De Minaur to face familiar foe in Wimbledon opener

Alex de Minaur has been dealt a brutal program at Wimbledon with the Australian star drawn in the same bracket as a fellow countryman and world No.2 Novak Djokovic.

The ninth-seed is on course to face Australian compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round, assuming the pair advance through the opening rounds.

This is also contingent on de Minaur overcoming another Aussie... Lucky loser James Duckwork who has replaced the injured Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the men's single's draw.

Duckworth had been knocked out in the final round of qualifying.

Djokovic is then scheduled to meet de Minaur in the quarter finals as the seven-time champion returns after undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus that prematurely ended his Roland-Garros campaign.

Watch Wimbledon 2024 from July 1 live and exclusively free on Nine and 9Now. Plus centre court in 4K UHD on Stan Sport, the home of grand slam tennis

De Minaur, who earlier this month won a grass-court title at 's-Hertogenbosch, will begin his sixth Wimbledon tournament on Monday night AEST.

Here is everything you need to know about this year's tournament.

When is Wimbledon?

Wimbledon gets underway on Monday, July 1 with matches from 8pm AEST at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. The two-week tournament wraps up on Sunday, July 14 with the men's singles final.

Wimbledon 2024 singles schedule (AEST)

— July 1-2: First round (women and men)

— July 3-4: Second round (women and men)

— July 5-6: Third round (women and men)

— July 7-8: Fourth round (women and men)

— July 9-10: Quarter-finals (women and men)

— July 11: Women's semi-finals

— July 12: Men's semi-finals

— July 13: Women's final

— July 14: Men's final

Is Novak Djokovic playing at Wimbledon?

This is the million-dollar question after the seven-time champion had surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee after injuring himself at Roland Garros.

As of Wednesday (AEST), Djokovic was hopeful.

"I haven't decided yet if I'm playing Wimbledon. I'll decide in the next few days," he said.

"Thank God, the recovery is going surprisingly well. After Wimbledon is the Olympic Games in Paris, which I am especially looking forward to."

Djokovic has been named to face the Czech Republic's Vit Kopriva in the opening round on Monday.

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Is Rafael Nadal playing at Wimbledon?

No, the 38-year-old is going to skip Wimbledon and instead prepare for the Paris 2024 by entering a clay court tournament in Sweden.

The 22-time grand slam champion wants to remain on clay rather than switch over to grass for SW19 before then jumping back to clay for the Olympic Games.

"We believe that the best for my body is not to change surface," Nadal told media.

"I will miss playing at the championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart."

Is Andy Murray playing at Wimbledon?

The two-time champion has been included in the men's singles draw despite only last week undergoing surgery to remove a cyst on his spinal cord last.

Also making his way back from a left ankle injury, Murray said he would wait until his last opportunity to decide whether or not he would feature. However, he admitted that he was more likely to contest the doubles title — after he and his older brother Jamie were awarded a wild-card entry — than the singles championship.

Murray's first-round singles match against Tomas Machac has been scheduled for day two of the tournament to give the 37-year-old an extra day to prepare.

The Scotsman has announced his fairytale plan to retire after contesting Wimbledon and next month's Olympic Games.

Wimbledon 2024 seedings

Men's singles:

1. Jannik Sinner (Italy)

2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

3. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)

4. Alexander Zverev (Germany)

5. Daniil Medvedev

6. Andrey Rublev

7. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)

8. Casper Ruud (Norway)

9. Alex de Minaur (Australia)

10. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

Women's singles:

1. Iga Swiatek (Poland)

2. Coco Gauff (United States)

3. Aryna Sabalenka

4. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)

5. Jessica Pegula (United States)

6. Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)

7. Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

8. Qinwen Zheng (China)

9. Maria Sakkari (Greece)

10. Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)

What prize money is on offer at Wimbledon?

The total prize money for this year's tournament has risen to nearly $95 million — an increase of nearly 12 per cent on 2023's purse.

The two singles champions will each pocket more than $5m.

How to watch Wimbledon in Australia?

Wimbledon will be comprehensively broadcast on Nine and Stan Sport.

Coverage of select matches will air on 9Gem and Channel 9 from 7.30pm AEST every night of the tournament.

Nine's Wide World of Sports commentary team for Wimbledon will include Todd Woodbridge, Alica Molik, Tony Jones, Jelena Dokic, Samantha Stosur and Brenton Speed, with Roz Kelly and Brett Phillips hosting.

Stan Sport will stream every match, ad-free, live and on-demand with Centre Court in 4K.

Stan Sport will also feature all the Wimbledon headlines, talking points and highlights as Grand Slam Daily returns.

Host Chris Stubbs will be joined by guests including four-time grand slam winner Kim Clijsters, former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Daniela Hantuchova, former Aussie singles and doubles star Casey Dellacqua and tennis expert Mark Petchey.​​

The team will also cross regularly to reporter Duncan McKenzie-McHarg as he chats with some of the biggest names in tennis.

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What are the odds for Wimbledon?*

Men's singles:

Jannik Sinner: $

Carlos Alcaraz: $

Novak Djokovic: $

Hubert Hurkacz: $

Alexander Zverev: $

Women's singles:

Iga Swiatek $

Aryna Sabalenka $

Elena Rybakina $

Cori Gauff $

Ons Jabeur $

*As per SportsBet at the time of publishing

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Who are the Australians that have qualified for Wimbledon?

Men's singles first round:

Alex de Minaur [9] vs James Duckworth [LL]

Jordan Thompson vs Pavel Kotov

Alexei Popyrin vs Thiago Monteiro (BRA)

Rinky Kijikata vs Flavio Cobolli (ITA)

Christopher O'Connell vs Taylor Fritz [13] (USA)

Aleksandar Vukic vs Sebastian Ofner (AUT)

Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Felix Auger-Aliassime [17] (CAN)

Max Purcell vs Otto Virtanen (FIN)

Adam Walton vs Federico Coria (ARG)

Alex Bolt vs Casper Rudd [8] (NOR)

Women's singles first round:

Daria Saville vs Peyton Starns (USA)

Ajla Tomljanovic vs Jelena Ostapenko [13] (LAT)

Olivia Gadecki vs Robin Montgomery (USA)

Who are the defending singles champions at Wimbledon?

Budding star Carlos Alcaraz defeated four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 1–6 7–6 6–1 3–6 6–4 in last year's men's singles final to win the 2023 title.

It was Alcaraz's first Wimbledon championship and his second major title overall.

The Spaniard has since added this year's Roland-Garros title to his résumé.

Carlos Alcaraz poses with the Wimbledon trophy after beating Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final.

Czech Marketa Vondrousova defeated Ons Jabeur 6–4 6–4 in the 2023 women's singles final to claim the crown.

The win marked her first major singles title.

Ranked world No.42 at the time, Vondrousova became the first unseeded female player to clinch the women's singles title at Wimbledon. She was also the second lowest-ranked finalist since the WTA rankings were established in 1975.